The Second Yule Ball
by Kori Bischoff
Summary: **Finished** It's the crew's 5th year and here comes another Yule ball. Harry asks Cho and Hermione asks Draco, but she really has feelings for Harry. What will happen? Please review!
1. Chapter 1

The Second Yule Ball  
  
The Yule ball had gone over so well last year that Dumbledore decided to have a ball the following year. Though the announcement had only been made yesterday, it was already a known fact that Fred was going with Angelina. It was also rumored that George was planning to ask Alicia, and Lee was going to ask Katie.  
  
Harry vowed that he would ask Cho before she was already taken. Harry figured that this would be an easy task, since lately Cho could be found wandering aimlessly down corridors. She was still traumatized over Cedric's death, but Harry thought it was still worth a shot. `No Cedric here to screw up my chances,' thought Harry. As soon as he thought it he felt a pang in his heart. He didn't truly mean to think that, it just sort of slipped out. Harry would have given anything for it to be him who had died, but he couldn't change the past.  
  
Just then Harry caught a glance of Cho walking down the corridor to the library. `Perfect,' he thought, `No one will be in the library right before winter break.' Cho walked into the library. Harry followed her, but stopped at the door. He peeked inside. Cho's back was turned. He walked to her.  
  
"Cho," he began.  
  
"Oh, hello Harry, how are you?" she replied.  
  
"Great, you?"  
  
"I'm okay"  
  
"That's good. Do you want to go to the dance with me? I mean, it's okay if you don't, or if you already have a date or something, but I just thought that maybe you would want to go, and I would like to take you if that would be okay." Harry said quickly, all in one breath.  
  
"That would be nice, I'd love to go with you," she said, amused with how nervous Harry was.  
  
"Thanks, great, I mean, err... I'll see you around, I've got to go to class," Harry said. He turned around and left before Cho could even say goodbye. He, however did not go to class, for he had a free hour, along with Hermione and Ron. Harry ran all the way to the Gryffindor common room, only stopping to give the Fat Lady the password. ("Wronski")  
  
"Guess who I'm going to Yule ball with," Harry said when he found Hermione and Ron.  
  
"Who?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Cho," Harry said with a smirk. He watched as Ron's jaw widened.  
  
"Really? You are so lucky, she's gorgeous. I'd do anything to go with her. Do you think you would let me dance just one dance with her?" said Ron.  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes, mumbled a goodbye and walked up to her dormitory. Harry called after her, but got no reply, she was too far away. "What's wrong with Hermione?" he asked Ron.  
  
"No clue, but about Cho, can I have a dance?"  
  
"Just one, I don't want her to go and fall head over heals in love with you, because where would that leave me?"  
  
"Ok, deal. I can't wait to wear the new robes I got."  
  
* * *  
  
"You are so lucky to have a date to the dance already. And Fred, that's even better. I was hoping Ron or Harry would ask me, but I doubt that's going to happen. Harry asked Cho, and Ron's making this huge deal about it. I might as well ask Neville, because soon he'll be the only left without a date." A tear rolled down Hermione's face.  
  
"Don't cry, we've only known about the dance for a day, don't be so hard on yourself. I bet I can find you a date by tomorrow night if you let me try. And I'll find a better guy than Neville." Angelina didn't know the real reason Hermione was crying.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with Neville, I just can't see him as anything more than friends. I would love if you helped me, though. Thanks."  
  
Hermione had been walking up to her dormitory when she had noticed that the 7th year's door was open, and Angelina was all alone in there. She wanted someone to talk to, and the girls in her year, well, they were just too overdramatic. Angelina had always been nice, so Hermione figured that Angelina would help her. And she had. She was going to try to help Hermione get a date for the ball. They said goodbyes and Hermione left. She went to bed happier than she had been before. She had even almost forgot about Harry and Cho. Almost. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Well Hermione, you sure do have a large selection of boys to go to the ball with. Now, do you want to know about the guys from your grade, or are you interested in the older men?" Angelina asked Hermione. It was the next day, and they were in the Gryffindor common room. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, but neither Hermione of Angelina need to buy or see anything, so they decided to stay at Hogwarts and discuss possible dates for Hermione.  
  
"I think I'd like to know about my grade first."  
  
"Okay. For your grade we have the semi-cute Dean Thomas; Ernie Macmillan, although I don't suggest him after all the trouble Harry had with him in your second year; and the evil, yet still very handsome Draco Malfoy. Oh, plus Neville, he'd love to go with you, but I promised you someone other than him. I`ll tell you about the others too, because I can see that you want to know. Colin Creevey has been thinking about you all day, and George Weasley seems to fancy you also."  
  
"But I thought George and Alicia..."  
  
"Yes, I thought George was going to ask Alicia too, and he still might, but it's you he wants."  
  
"How exactly did you find out about all of these boys wanting to go with me? Surely you didn't ask the whole school. And I know for a fact the Draco would never tell you, even if he did like me. So how'd you do it?"  
  
"I didn't ask anyone. They don't even know that I found out about them liking you. It's a spell, I can read minds with it. All I did was mention the Ball around large groups of boys, and listened to who they were thinking about. Then I tuned into anyone who thought about you."  
  
"How come I've never read about it? I've never heard about it before."  
  
"That's because it's a family spell. I don't use it unless I have to, because I think it's rude to listen to other people's thoughts with out them being able to stop me. That's why it's never left our family, because just think of the destruction it could do if it was in the wrong hands."  
  
"So when you mentioned the Ball, all of those boys thought about me? Well, Harry and Ron would kill me if I ever went with Draco," `maybe I should ask him, I despise him, but then maybe Harry would come and rescue me from him,' she thought. "So he's off the list. And Ernie and Collin are out too, no offence to them. I'll have to think about Dean and George. Thanks for all your help. You'll be the first one to know when I ask someone to the Yule Ball."  
  
"Glad to help, but I think the rest of the school is coming back, so maybe we should split up. I'll talk to you tomorrow, bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
`What am I doing?' Hermione thought as she walked to the Slytherin tower. `I don't even want to go to the ball with Malfoy, so why am I asking him? You want to make Harry mad and jealous, just how he made you feel,' She reminded herself. Hermione came to a painting that she recognized as the entrance to the Slytherin common room, and was asked for a password. "Password?" Hermione asked out loud. "I really should have gotten it before I came. Now what could it be? Err...Pureblood...I guess not...hmmm...Knockturn Alley...OPEN UP NOW!!!" Hermione finally shouted, very irritated, mostly because she hadn't found out the password before she came.  
  
As Hermione yelled, the portrait swung open and Draco stepped out. "Temper, temper, Granger. Why are you trying to get into the Slytherin common room anyway?" he snarled.  
  
"I was looking for you, actually. Would you like to go ball with me?" Hermione asked, cool as ever.  
  
"You want to go to the ball with me? Do you really think I would want to go with you?"  
  
"You could have just said no, you didn't have to rub it in," Hermione said, turning away. She was trying her hardest to look and sound hurt. It must have worked, because just as she was about to walk away she felt a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were serious. I would love to go with you, Hermione, that is, if you still want to go with me."  
  
Hermione turned around. "Of course I still want to go with you." She looked up into his eyes and smiled. `I can't believe I'm going with Malfoy. Now I have to pretend to like him, and be nice to him, and everything.' She mumbled a goodbye and turned away.  
  
"The password is `Basilisk' in case you were wondering. You know, to visit me or anything, I mean, if you want to," Draco called after her. Hermione kept walking. She somehow found her way to the Gryffindor common room. She swore to herself in her head the whole time. She saw Harry and Ron playing chess in the common room, and put on a happy, dreamy look and walked toward them. She sat down on the couch next to Harry and sighed.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" asked Ron, looking up.  
  
"Only the fact that I have a date to the ball," she replied. Harry and Ron's mouths dropped open.  
  
"Who?" they asked in allusion.  
  
"Draco," she said, drawling as she said it, letting her words roll off her tongue. She wait for her word to register in the minds of Harry and Ron.  
  
"Malfoy? Are you crazy?" asked Ron, shocked.  
  
"I forbid you to go with him," said Harry, very sternly.  
  
"You can't forbid me to do anything! You're not the boss of me, I can do whatever I want!" screamed Hermione.  
  
"I'm only trying to protect you! You know what Malfoy's like! I wouldn't trust him with you for even a second."  
  
"I don't need your protection, I'll be fine by myself. Bye," said Hermione, as she walked away.  
  
"I was only trying to be a friend, I don`t want to see her hurt," said Harry to Ron.  
  
"I know, Harry, I know. Something is defiantly up, and it's our job to find out. As much as I hate to say it, maybe we should talk to Malfoy, see what the deal is."  
  
"Fine, you can, but I'm going to stay here, because if I go I'm going to end up cursing him, and then Hermione would hate me more than she already does."  
  
"She doesn't hate you."  
  
"Still, I'm going to stay here."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Hermione looked back and saw Ron leaving and Harry sitting in a big armchair with his arms crossed. He looked very upset. `I can't believe we just fought, that was the biggest fight we've ever had, and it was over a guy I don't even like, one that I hate, at that! Well, at least I know he cares,' Hermione thought before going to her room. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Malfoy truly loves her, Harry. As much as I hate it, he loves her, and if she likes him, who are we to stop them from going together? I don't want her to be with him any more than you do, and I would do anything to protect her, but I also want her to be happy. And I know you do too," Ron said when he returned from his talk with Malfoy.  
  
"I do want her to be happy, but why did she have to pick him? He's our arch-rival, and has hated all three of us from our first day, and we all have hated him just as much. Why does she pick now to change all that? All I want is to be able to go to the ball and have fun with Cho, but no, that blasted Malfoy has to go and ruin it all."  
  
"There isn't any way we can stop it, so there is no point in trying."  
  
"Well, there is one way," Harry said with a devilish grin.  
  
"I'm not going to like this, am I? I don't even want to know your plan, so don't tell me it" Ron said, with a worried look on his face.  
  
"You might like it. See, the only way to get Hermione to not go with Malfoy, is to find someone else to go with her. Someone she knows. Someone she trusts. Someone like you," Harry said, flashing one of his amazing smiles. Ron looked at Harry in sheer terror. He didn't know what to say.  
  
"Harry, you know I love Hermione like a sister, she's my best friend -("Hmmph") you are too!-but I can't see myself ever with her. I'd do almost anything to help keep her away from Malfoy, but not this. I just can't look at her that way. It would be wrong. Why don't you take her, it's your brilliant plan," Ron said.  
  
"I'm going with Cho! I'm not going to cancel my plans with Cho, so I can keep Hermione away from Malfoy. Besides, she's my friend and I'll never think of her as more than that."  
  
"I guess we can scrap that plan then," said Ron, looking thoughtful. "The only thing we can do is let her go with him and hope for the best."  
  
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to bring my wand and try to stay around her. I don't trust Malfoy, no matter how much you claim that he truly likes her."  
  
"I'll do the same. I need to find myself a date first, though."  
  
"I'll help you," said Harry. He was already going over possible dates for Ron in his head. He could see Ron with Lavender. Though she sometimes could be an airhead, she was mostly okay, and she was pretty enough. "What about Lavender," he suggested to Ron.  
  
Ron thought for a moment. "She's a good choice, I'll go ask her. What should I say?"  
  
"How about 'Will you go to the dance with me?'"  
  
"Good idea! I'll be back soon"  
  
Ron went off to find Lavender, and Harry was left alone with his thoughts. He thought about Cho, the problems with Hermione, and whether or not Lavender would say yes to Ron. He could only hope everything would work out ok.  
  
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Sorry this chapter is short! I'll write more soon! I was hoping I could get 5 to 10 more reviews, if that's ok, but I wouldn't say no to more. I'll post the next chapter once I get more reviews. Which means if you all review, I'm gunna have to write more soon. (I've been slacking off, bad, bad Kori) I'm also writing another Harry Potter fanfic, please check it out also. It's under Kori Bischoff too, and it's title is A Hogwarts Mystery. R/r it, please! 


	4. Chapter 4

Harry and Ron had stopped fighting with Hermione about Malfoy and the dance. All three of them had an unspoken agreement that the dance was not to be mentioned. Just because they were all getting along again, didn't mean that Ron or Harry had accepted the fact that Hermione was going to the dance with Malfoy. Ron had threatened Malfoy that if he ever hurt Hermione he would kill him, and Harry wanted to punch him every time he saw Malfoy checking out Hermione.  
  
The day of the ball, Hermione was panicking. She wasn't worried about her dress robes or her hair or makeup like most of the girls. She had bought new robes, and had already figured out how her hair and makeup was going to look. What worried her was her date to the ball, Malfoy. 'Am I really go to the dance with Malfoy? I can't back out now, because then I'll have no one to take me. I really don't want to have to pretend to be enjoying myself the whole time, though. And after the dance, how do I tell Malfoy that I don't truly like him, in fact I hate him, and that I had a horrible time with him? This was a stupid plan, I should have known that it would never work. It's all Harry's fault. He was supposed to get jealous, dump Cho, and bring me to the dance. Maybe I'll be able to find out some information about Malfoy, that I can blackmail him with later,' Hermione thought as she started to get ready for the ball.  
  
At the same time, Harry and Ron were also getting ready for the dance. As they got ready, they thought about what would happen that night.  
  
"Can you believe Lavender agreed to go to the ball with me? Remember how great she looked last year?" Ron asked, ecstatic that Lavender had said yes to him when he asked her to go to the ball with him.  
  
"Sorry Ron, I don't really remember. What was she wearing?" Harry asked Ron.  
  
"I'm not really sure, but I bet she looked great," Ron said, wondering what Lavender had been wearing the previous year. Harry just laughed.  
  
"You were too busy glaring at Krum to notice Lavender," Harry said, recalling the year before.  
  
"Hermione always seems to ruin the ball for us because of who she's going with, doesn't she?" Ron speculated.  
  
"Yeah, but I'm not going to worry about it. Hermione's the smarted witch here, and she can handle Malfoy."  
  
"But if we don't like the way things are going, whether it looks like he's offending her, or getting too close, we get to beat him up right?"  
  
"Defiantly," said Harry. The boys finished getting ready for the ball.  
  
Since Harry was bringing Cho to the dance, he left the Gryffindor common room early to go to the Ravenclaw tower. He left before he saw Hermione. Maybe if he had seen her, and how stunning she looked, he would have stayed, but instead he left seconds before she walked into the common room. On his way climbing out of the portrait hole , Harry saw Draco in the hall. They exchanged harsh words, and then Harry continued to where Cho's common room was located. Cho was waiting outside the Ravenclaw portrait hole when Harry arrived. She was wearing navy blue dress robes, that matched the color of his. The only difference was that hers had a much lower neckline. Her hair long and flowing. For a moment, Harry was speechless.  
  
When Harry finally found his voice, he said, "You look beautiful Cho."  
  
"You look great too, Harry," she replied, "Shall we go now."  
  
"Yes," he said, holding out his arm. Cho took it, and they walked to the Great Hall together. The Great Hall was simply magical. The ceiling showed the cloudless night, the sky full of stars. The walls sparkled, somehow bewitched. Even with the way the room looked, Harry couldn't take his eyes off of Cho. The music started, and Harry could think of nothing but the beautiful girl in his arms.  
  
Draco had tried to convince Hermione to dance many times, but she kept telling him she wasn't in the mood yet. She finally suggested that she get drinks for the two of them. Draco agreed.  
  
Harry had also decided to get drinks for himself and Cho. He met up with Ron, who was sitting at a table next to the table full of food. They started talking.  
  
"Have you seen Hermione yet, Harry?" Ron asked.  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"You should see her, she looks gorgeous."  
  
"Oh come on Ron. She never looks beautiful, she's just Hermione," Harry replied, wondering how Ron could ever think such a thing about their best friend. 'I could never think of her as more than a friend,' he thought.  
  
"Yeah, well, she does."  
  
"I'll talk to you later, okay? Cho is probably waiting for me."  
  
"Okay, bye Harry."  
  
Hermione had been standing behind Harry and Ron and had overheard them talking, as she poured drinks for Draco and herself. Harry's comment about her stung. A tear rolled down her cheek. She ran outside, completely forgetting about Draco and the drinks that she had just poured.  
  
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I hope you liked this chapter. Chapter 5 (the next chapter) will be the last chapter of this story. I'm thinking about having a sequel to this story, and tell what you think. Do you want a sequel? Please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione sat down on one of the benches outside the Great Hall. Just as she was about to burst into tears, she realized that the way Harry thought about her was probably for the best. It was her fault, she decided, not his. It was Hermione who had liked Harry, even though she fully knew how much her loving him could ruin their relationship. 'I'm glad I heard Harry say that. It stopped me from doing some stupid things. Well, I've already done some stupid things; going to the ball with Malfoy is high on the list. I'm just glad I realized that all we'll ever be is friends now; it's better then finding out after I confessed my love to him. From this day forward, I will only think of Harry Potter as my best friend, because he is,' thought Hermione. She got up, smoothed her robes, and walked back into the Great Hall.  
  
Harry had been looking for Cho for the last ten minutes. She had disappeared after he had gotten their drinks. His was now gone. 'Were did Cho go? She was just here,' Harry though. He was wandering all around, and ended up where he had started, the refreshment table. Ron was still sitting near it.  
  
"Harry, I thought you were going back to Cho," Ron said.  
  
"I was, but I can't seem to find her. Have you seen her?" Harry replied.  
  
"Yeah, I saw her just a few minutes ago, wandering over there," Ron said, pointing to the opposite corner of the hall.  
  
"Thanks, I'll see you around," Harry said, heading for the corner of the hall. As he approached the other side of the room, full of chairs, he did indeed see Cho. Cho and some other boy. Cho and some other boy, kissing. Harry walked up to them, not knowing what he was going to do.  
  
"How could you?" Harry asked. Cho looked guiltily up at Harry, his eyes stone cold. His face showed how hurt he was.  
  
"Uhhh…Harry…this is Josh…we were just…errr…well, you see…" Cho said, not knowing what to say, or how to say it.  
  
"Save it, I don't care." Harry turned and bolted to the corridor that would bring him to the Gryffindor tower. Tears were streaming down his face. He didn't care who saw him, but no one did, for they were all enjoying themselves at the dance. 'I knew it was too good to be true. How could I have been so dumb? I should have realized that Cho would never really like someone like me. I have to get away. I have to get away from it all.'  
  
Hermione watched Harry run out of the Great Hall. She chased after him, not caring about anyone else at the ball. The only one who mattered. Even though she had convinced herself that she was over him, he was still her best friend, and he looked hurt. She had to help him. She followed him into the Gryffindor common room, and watched him sit down on the floor near the fire. She watched him for a minute, before going over and sitting next to him.  
  
Harry looked up, and noticed Hermione sitting by his side. She looked at him, and gave him a hug. For once, he didn't resist her, and hugged her back. Harry smiled. Even if he didn't have Cho, he had a great friend that cared about him. He stopped crying. Hermione pulled away and looked into his tear stained eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I just saw Cho kissing someone else. His name was Josh or something. I don't know what happened. All I know is that I shouldn't be crying," said Harry. "'Boys don't cry,'" He continued, quoting his uncle. "But it's not just Cho. It's everything, my whole life. Nothing ever goes right, and I just bottle up all of my emotions. What would everyone think if the 'Great Harry Potter' was crying? I can't ever cry, because that would show weakness, and I can't show weakness, because if I do, I could end up dead. All Voldemort needs is to see a little weakness, and I'm good as gone. But I can't stand it anymore. I wish I wasn't Harry Potter, 'the boy who lived,' I wish I was just some normal teenager. I would give up being a wizard if I could just be a normal person with parents. But I guess I was meant to be alone. Cho just proved it to me."  
  
Hermione was shocked by Harry's speech. "Harry, you'll never be alone. Even if you don't have parents or a girlfriend, you'll always have your friends. You'll always have me."  
  
"Hermione, every time I get close to someone, one of us gets hurt, my parents were killed, so was Cedric, and Cho just broke my heart. I don't want you to get hurt, I care too much about you, so maybe it would be better if we weren't so close."  
  
"Harry, your not going to get rid of me that easily."  
  
"Hermione, you realize that being around me could get you killed don't you?"  
  
"Yes I realize that, do you realize that you're worth being killed over?"  
  
"Surely you don't mean that Hermione," Harry said, shocked that anyone could really care about him that much.  
  
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. I care about you more than anything else. Nothing will ever change that."  
  
"Not even this?" Harry asked, as he kissed her. Harry couldn't figure out what he was doing. Hermione was just a friend, wasn't she?  
  
Harry broke away from the kiss and looked into Hermione's eyes. The kiss had told him everything that he wanted to hear. She wasn't just a friend; she was much more than that. She always had been more, he just hadn't realized it. He only hoped that she felt the same way, because if she didn't, it could be awkward.  
  
"Not even that. But I have to know, what type of kiss did you intend that to be? Was it a friendship kiss, or did it mean more than that?" Hermione asked hoping with all her heart that he felt the same way she did.  
  
"It was a 'you're my best friend, but I want to be more than that' kiss."  
  
"Good, because I want to be more too."  
  
Harry kissed her again.  
  
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(A/N) This is the last chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm starting a sequel, telling about what happens after the ball. Draco, Ron, Lavender and others will be in the sequel. Review and give me ideas for it please! Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please go read my other story, A Hogwarts Mystery. No one is reviewing it, and I'm sad. The Second Yule Ball started out as just a side project as I wrote my real fanfic, A Hogwarts Mystery, and now everyone reads this one, and not the real one. 


	6. Author Note

I need help with the sequel of this story. I want your ideas on pairings. (Harry/Hermione is a definite) I need someone for Ron and Draco. I also need ideas for what is going to happen. Should Cho beg for Harry to forgive her, should Ron get mad about his two best friends becoming a couple, should Draco get revenge? Give me some ideas, because I have no plot for the sequel! Thanks. ~Kori 


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